Re: My first Iridium flare
Jim Varney (sat_watcher@rocketmail.com)
Thu, 30 Oct 1997 02:52:25 -0800 (PST)
---"Huston, Stu" <A016174@mdcpo102.hb.mdc.com> wrote:
>
>
> I finally downloaded Rob Matson's IRIDFLAR yesterday and did a
prediction.
> Lo and behold, the first flare was a -5.6 magnitude with a maximum
about
> 1/4 mile from my house! So at 18:18 PST, with absolutely clear skies,
>
> Are they all like this?
Yes and no. If you observe a lot of flares, all on centerline of
maximum flare, you would see considerable brightness variation among the
flares. The satellite's range and the apparent projected area of the
MMA "mirror" are important factors for flare brightness. Try comparing
a centerline glint at 2000 km range versus 900 km and you'll see what I
mean.
IMHO if we want to refine the magnitude curves for Iridiums then we
would need to consider range and MMA projected area. The flare
reporting format doesn't contain that information now.
__________________________________________________
Jim Varney 121.398W 38.458N 8m Sacramento, CA
jamesv@softcom.net, sat_watcher@rocketmail.com
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